Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/12

 vi PREFACE tion of their principal pictures ; a statement of the prices at which such pictures have been sold at public sales on the Con- tinent and in England ; a reference to the galleries and private collections in which a large portion are at present ; and the names of the artists by whom they have been engraved ; to which is added a brief notice of the scholars and imitators of the great masters of the above schools : by John Smith, dealer in pictures, late of Great Marlborough Street, London : published by Smith and Son, 137 New Bond Street." These eight volumes were followed in 1 842 by a large " Supplement," in the title of which u a copious description " is promised " of nearly the whole of their pictures," and not merely " of their principal pictures," as in the title of the main work. This Catalogue contains a description of the works of thirty- three painters of the Dutch school, of four of the Flemish, and three of the French school. In its time, and especially in England, it was an epoch-making production. For a picture to have been described by Smith was, in itself, a mark of distinction, and praise from him made an appreciable difference in a picture's market-price. The book has long been out of print, and has risen greatly in value. It was published at 12 : ios., but a copy now fetches 30 or 35. The distinctive qualities of the book justify its success and the high price paid -for it. The compiler had probably examined more pictures than any of his contemporaries had done, and he possessed also the scientific temperament lacking in others who had, perhaps, seen nearly as many pictures as he. His opinions as to the genuineness of certain paintings reflect the views of his time ; his judgments as to the assthetic qualities of pictures are for the most part still valid. It need hardly be said that he was mistaken in supposing that he had described " nearly the whole " of the works of the painters whom he selected for treatment. In the generation preceding the development of modern methods of communication and the rise of photography, no one suspected how many undescribed treasures lay hidden in palaces, country-houses, and provincial museums. A new edition of Smith's "Catalogue" has long been needed. Opinions as to the genuineness of many pictures have